SPAIN'S VINTAGE TO CHERISH

Spain’s 2016 vintage is one of its all-time greats. It’s one of the best harvests of this generation and a benchmark against which future stellar vintages will be measured.

From coast to coast and at points in between, favorable conditions from spring through fall allowed Spain’s winemakers to produce splendidly balanced and expressive wines.

Best of all, the high quality is apparent in white, red and sparkling wines, and it isn’t limited to the country’s most rare and expensive collectibles. It’s a year in which the majority of the country’s wines, regardless of price or pedigree, are at their finest.

“[It] was an outstanding vintage throughout Spain,” says Miguel Torres Maczassek, director general of Familia Torres, which is based in Catalonia, but also makes wine in Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Rías Baixas. “There is no doubt that it is the best vintage of the (2000s) so far. As growers and winemakers, we tend to complain about something every vintage…except for 2016.

“The quality of the harvest was outstanding,” he says. “Temperatures were, in general, moderate. So